Neil Patrick Harris To Bring Joy to the World With New NBC Variety Show

The Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor has played a kid doctor, a wannabe super villain, a legendary ladies man, and a transgendered glam rocker. Now he'll add one more role to that lengthy list: variety show host.

The former How I Met Your Mother star will headline a U.S. version of the long-running U.K. variety show Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, NBC confirmed Monday.

As first reported by Vulture, there will be ten hourlong installments of the series, which will be filmed in front of a live audience. It will feature comedy sketches, musical numbers, and mini game shows, as well as appearances by Hollywood's biggest stars. And in the vein of MTV's Punk'd, there will also be hidden camera pranks on celebrities.

"As I watched the show, I couldn't stop smiling," Harris said in a statement. "Now that I've seen many seasons, my face hurts. It's a game changer. Nothing like this has been done before, and its unique structure fits right into my random skill set. I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and have some fun!"

A skilled magician and veteran awards show host, Harris told Howard Stern in May that he had no interest in doing a nightly show à la The Late Show, but that a weekly variety show with pre-taped segments and interviews was more his style. "I think I would get bored of the repetition fast, and the structure of it is so set," Harris explained. "I don't have any interest in doing monologue, commercial, sketch, guest, guest, guest, musical act, 'Good night.'"

This isn't the first time NBC has attempted a variety show in recent years. Last May, the network aired The Maya Rudolph Show, a primetime special also featuring musical numbers, sketches and tons of celebrity cameos.

"All of us here at NBC have been dying to work with Neil, as we've watched him brilliantly host the Tonys and Emmys," Paul Telegdy, NBC Entertainment's President of Alternative and Late Night Programming, said in a statement. "This series will suit his extraordinary talents perfectly. He is a versatile and thrilling talent for us to welcome into the NBC family."